Our European Adventure

In March 2001 we ventured overseas as a family. We started in Amsterdam, were Martin has some family and friends. We hired a campervan (motorhome for the Americans) and drove around Europe and the UK for nearly six weeks. It was a great experience and although there are always a few problems, all in all it went very well and is fondly remembered by us all.

	We left from Perth International Airport on this Singapore Airlines plane. We changed planes in Singapore, so had a couple of hours to wander around the magnificent Changi Airport. We then flew directly to Amsterdam. The flight crew, movies and entertainment were all great.
	Martin was born on a houseboat in the north of Amsterdam, in an area not far from this canal. As you can see, there are still many families with this unusual type of address.
	We visited the Zaanse Schans, an open air museum near Zaandam. There are, of course, windmills to be seen! The view below is from one of the windmills, looking across the Zaan River to Zaandam itself.
	After a few days in the Amsterdam/Zaandam area, we crossed the man-made Afsluitdijk on our way to Groningen. This dyke was built in the 1920s and is about 30km in length. It was built to prevent flooding in the Zuiderzee area. The water on the right was formerly the salty Zuiderzee (Zuider Sea) but is now then freshwater Ijsselmeer (Ijssel Lake).

Hunbeds were burial chambers for the ancient Hun inhabitants of Drenthe, The Netherlands. Large stones were precisely positioned and were originally covered with earth and had floors of small stones. There was an entrance to allow bodies to be interred. The rocks were brought to the area by glaciers during an ice age and gathered by the Huns over 5000 years ago.

We left The Netherlands and traveled into Germany, and that of course, means The Rhine River. We traveled along its banks for part of our journey south towards Bavaria. I was amazed at the amount of traffic both in the river and along its sides - barges, trucks and trains! We spent one night in a caravan park right on the banks of the Rhine in the Lorelei Valley. This is a view looking across the Rhine in that area. Note the strange building in the middle of the river. I am still wondering for what purpose it was originally built.

Another of the features of the Rhine are the many castles. We stopped to visit Castle Rheinstein (Rhine Stone), once inhabited by Prussian princes. This view is from the top of the main tower, looking down into one of the courtyards. This courtyard contained a garden and featured a 500 year old grapevine. Note also the chapel to the left. The castle contained some great suits of armour and stained glass windows.

We stayed in the Bavarian town of Oberjoch for a couple of nights. Oberjoch is the highest town in Germany, and as you can see, winter had not yet left (early April). Martin & I visited pretty Oberjoch in the summer on our honeymoon in 1985. The snow makes it completely different but still picturesque. Our boys had never seen snow before and they had a wonderful time!

Overnight it snowed again and we awoke to find our camper and awning covered in snow. Our little Karman Volkswagon camper served us very well. The boys slept over the driving cab while Martin and I converted the table into bed every evening. We had our own bathroom, and a little 'shed' for the outside table and chairs (we didn't use them in Oberjoch!).

One of the highlights of our trip was visiting King Ludwig II's wonderful Neuschwanstein. Perched on the top of a hill in the beautiful Bavarian countryside, there is little to match it. The photo at right os from the entryway looking up to the main castle.

Speaking of the Bavarian countryside, this view is from Neuschwanstein looking towards Hohenschwangau Castle, where Ludwig the Second of Bavaria grew up. Note the lakes and mountains in the background.

We traveled through Austria in one day. We had intended to get a highway tax sticker, but somehow missed the place to buy them so had to stay on the windy small roads. It was interesting to see the highway going straight across the valleys while we wound our way along the valley floors and sides. It seems that the Austrian Churches are often right on the road - to the extent that the road veers around them! We left Austria via the Brenner Pass into Italy.

Our first stop in Italy was Verona. We stayed at the "Romeo & Juliet" Caravan Park - but there wasn't anything very romantic about most of the Italian caravan parks. Verona is a very old and interesting city. The most obvious feature is the Colosseum-like arena in the middle of the town. This arena dates from Roman times but has been kept in reasonable repair and is used for for staging operas. As you can see, they were setting up while we were visiting.

	I found the ornate tombs of the Scaligeri family very interesting. Apparently they were a very influential family in Verona's past. The other 'must see' in Verona is Juliet's balcony - and it took us a while to find it - despite the crush of tour groups heading that way! Although I have my doubts as to the authenticity and age of the balcony, the lovers' graffiti around it was amazing!
	Onto Venice! It seems this is a city that people either love or hate and we loved it. We had great weather and got there early so it wasn't too crowded for most of our visit. We walked around safely without worrying about cars and scooters racing by - there were only the canals to avoid! We had a great day wondering around - saw some magnificent buildings and got a little bit lost, which is inevitable in Venice. On the left is the Grand Canal - a bustling waterway and on the right the Bridge of Sighs in a smaller waterway, but still with plenty of water traffic.
	Piazza San Marco features the wonderful San Marco Basilica and of course, pigeons! The Italians really know how to make beautiful and interesting churches. Unfortunately we didn't go inside (very long queue) but the outside was worth the visit. Glen's favourite part of the day was feeding the pigeons. He loved it - and the pigeons seem happy too.
	From Venice we travelled to Florence. Who is the most famous person in Florence? There he is on the left, David. Well almost, as this is actually a copy of Michaelangeo's masterpiece. It is situated where David originally stood in the Piazza Signoria, outside the Castel de Vecchio. The original was moved inside a museum after it was damaged. The photo to the right is inside the Castel de Vecchio, you may recognise it from a scene in the movie "Hannnibal".
	What is the most famous building in Florence? Well, this may not be quite so easy, as there are a few famous places in Florence but I think it has to be the Duomo. Sorry, don't know its proper name, but it is the big fancy church in the middle of town. Another amazing example of what an italian church can be! To the right we have some-one more infamous - Macchiavelli.

Our next stop was Pisa, and of course one must see the tower! We had beautiful weather and the "Field of Miracles" looked wonderful - green grass, blue sky and the lovely white buildings. The tower is actually the bell tower of a beautiful white church. It was still being 'stabilised' while were there so we couldn't climb, which Martin had done years before. He said it was a weird experience and we had been hoping it would be open. That night we stayed in a caravan park at Torre del Lago - the best and cheapest we found in Italy.

Our last stop in Italy was in the Italian Alps. We camped in Antey St Andre and took a cable car up to the village of Chamois, pictured at right. This was a pretty little village, very high in the mountains. It was mid April and there was still plenty of snow about and people skiing.

We then drove through the St Bernard Tunnel into Switzerland. There was lots of snow, ice and rain about. Once through the alps there wasn't so much snow - but rain was the main feature of our time in Switzerland. I am sure it is very pretty when the sun shines - it just doesn't happen very often! We visited Chateau de Chillon - a restored castle near Montreux on Lake Geneva.

We found lots of interesting things inside the chateau. The boys liked this big chest (on the left) and rather fancied themselves as thieves trying to pick the locks. We also saw the dungeon, where some poor blighters were tied to the pillars for decades.

From Montreux we drove around the north side of Lake Geneva and drove around and around and around Geneva. Yes, we got quite lost there while trying to get to France without using the highway because we hadn't bought a Swiss Highway tax sticker. Eventually a lady on a moped guided us! We drove through France and onto Paris. Our first stop in Paris was the enormous Palace of Versailles. It is just so large! The photo shows only a small part of the front facade.

	We visited one part of the palace. There were and lots of wonderful paintings and some beautiful rooms, including the very long Hall of Mirrors. The photo to the left shows a candelabra and statue at one end of the hall. Everything in Versailles on an enormous scale, and the gardens were no exception. As you can see, the gardens go on and on... almost as far as the eye can see.
	The next day was definitely a great day for the kids. We visited Disneyland Paris. We all had a great time, going on several terrific rides, including the Indiana Jones Ride (left) and the Star Wars Ride, where we met an old friend from the movies, C3PO. One of my favourites was the 3D movie, 'Honey, I shrunk the Audience'. Mind you, 3D was only the start - there were lots of other, more physical effects as well!
	For our third day in Paris, we caught a train into the city centre. We left the train at Notre Dam and walked to the Eiffel Tower. The long queues (and lack of interest in churches from the boys) meant I didn't see inside Notre Dame, but she was interesting from the outside - and much cleaner than when I first saw her in 1985. There was a lovely little park behind her, and a great view of the flying buttresses.

We walked along the Seine and ate our lunch in a bus stop. Eventually we reached probably the most notable Parisian landmark - 'Le Tour Eiffel'! The boys were much more interested in the Eiffel Tower than churches, and we were allowed to go up. We climbed the stairs to the first and then then the second level - we did count the number of steps, I think it was 668. I must mention that the weather that day was very changeable. As you can see by the photos, sometimes it was very nice, but at other times it rained and there were dark storm clouds.

Well, the walk up was worth it. What a magnificent view! To the left is the view down the Eiffel Concourse and the Champs du Mars. To the right some of the 'old city' of Paris, up to the Sacre Coeur on the hill in the middle. I ran into some fellow Aussies on the tower - it was great to hear an accent from home.

From france we crossed the English channel via a car (and campervan) ferry. We then drove to visit family in Devon. While in the area we visited the Eden Project in Cornwall. In these giant domes, different climates are reproduced to enable vegetation from all over the world to grow.

We then set off slowly north. We stopped to have a look at the magnificent ruins of Glastonbury Abbey. This place must have been huge when it was whole and is still awe-inspiring. Further to the north and east is Straford-upon-Avon, home of William Shakespeare. We visited the very picturesque cottage and garden of Anne Hathaway.

Our next stop was Warwick Castle. This castle is in better repair than many in Britain and holds many interesting medaevil displays and some of Madam Tussaud's waxworks. The boys found a medaevil soldier and some weapons to try! We also saw an archery demonstration with diffferent kinds of bows.

Then into Wales. We went right up to the north west corner of Wales to the Isle of Anglesey. This island is connected to the mainland by bridges. The castle of Beaumaris is not in the same condition as Warwick - but it is still standing. We found this castle very interesting. It was basically a military castle and the defences reflected this. However it was also used to house royal visitors to the area. A sea canal allowed ships to come right up to the castle wall and unload through a portal.

To see enlargements of the photographs, simply click on the thumbnail.

Last updated: 25/04/2007